Leuven Rapid and Blitz 2018

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 3rd June, 2018, 10:33 PM

Re: Leuven Rapid and Blitz 2018

Leuven Rapid and Blitz 2018

June 3, 2018

Our English broadcast team for Your Next Move starting on June 12 is set. GMs Yasser Seirawan, Alejandro Ramirez and IM Jovanka Houska will be providing commentary from the studio in St. Louis while GMs Maurice Ashley and Nigel Short will be on site in Leuven.

Alongside our English broadcast, we will have Russian commentary with GM Evgenij Miroshnichenko and GM Yaroslav Zherebukh. Tune in at:

http://grandchesstour.org

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 12th June, 2018, 04:30 PM

Re: Leuven Rapid and Blitz 2018

Leuven Rapid and Blitz 2018

June 12, 2018

Rounds One to Three

The commentators are Jovanka Houska, Yasser Seirawan (sporting a goatee), Alejandro Ramirez and Maurice Ashley in Leuven.

- Yasser joined the bearded club like so many chess players these days. It’s Maurice’s turn next.

- The most surprising innovation in round 1 is Yasser’s beard

Rapid Results

Round 1, June 12, 2018

Caruana-So 0-1
Anand-Mamedyarov 0-1
MVL-Karjakin 0.5-0.5
Nakamura-Giri 1-0
Grischuk-Aronian 0.5-0.5

Round 2, June 12

So-Mamedyarov 1—0
Aronian-Nakamura 1-0
Karjakin-Grischuk 1-0
Caruana-MVL 0.5-0.5

Round 3, June 12

MVL-So 0.5-0.5
Nakamura-Karjakin 0.5-0.5
Mamedyarov-Giri 0.5-0.5
Grischuk-Caruana 1-0
Anand-Aronian 0.5-0.5

Standings after Round 3

1 So 5
2-3 Karjakin, Aronian 4
4-8 Nakamura, Mamedyarov, Giri, Grischuk, MVL 3
9 Caruana 1

Selection of games

Rapid 25+10
Round 1, June 12
Nakamura, Hikaru – Giri Anish
D00 Queen’s Pawn, Mason variation

1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 Nf6 3.e3 Bf5 4.c4 e6 5.Nf3 Bxb1 6.Rxb1 Bb4+ 7.Ke2 dxc4 8.Qa4+ Nc6 9.Ne5 a5 10.Nxc6 Qd7 11.Rc1 Nd5 12.Rxc4 Nb6 13.Qc2 Nxc4 14.Nxb4 Nxb2 15.Nd3 Nxd3 16.Qxd3 O-O 17.f3 Rfd8 18.Kf2 c5 19.Qb1 cxd4 20.exd4 Qxd4+ 21.Be3 Qd6 22.Be2 a4 23.Rc1 a3 24.g3 b6 25.Rc3 Rdc8 26.Rb3 Qc7 27.Bd3 h6 28.Bh7+ Kh8 29.Be4 Ra6 30.Bxb6 Qc1 31.Qxc1 Rxc1 32.Be3 Rc8 33.g4 Ra4 34.Bd3 Raa8 35.Be4 Ra4 36.Kg3 g5 37.Bd2 Kg8 38.Bc3 h5 39.Bf6 hxg4 40.Kxg4 Ra5 41.f4 1-0

Rapid 25+10
Round 2, June 12
Aronian, Levon – Nakamura, Hikaru
A14 English, Neo-Catalan

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 c5 7.Bb2 Nc6 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nc3 b6 10.Nxd5 exd5 11.d4 Be6 12.Qb1 a5 13.Rd1 Ra7 14.Bc3 a4 15.bxa4 Rxa4 16.Qb5 Rc4 17.Rac1 Bf6 18.Qxc6 cxd4 19.Bxd4 Rxc6 20.Rxc6 Qa8 21.Rxb6 Qa4 22.Rd2 Rc8 23.h4 Bd8 24.Rb3 h6 25.Kh2 Bf5 26.Rdb2 Bc7 27.Be5 Bxe5 28.Nxe5 Qe8 29.Nf3 Be4 30.Bh3 Ra8 31.Nd4 Qe5 32.e3 g5 33.h5 Ra6 34.Rb6 Rxb6 35.Rxb6 Qc7 36.Rxh6 Qa5 37.Bg2 Qxa2 38.Bxe4 dxe4 39.Kg2 Kg7 40.Rd6 g4 41.Nf5+ Kh7 42.Rf6 Qb3 43.Nh6 Qd5 44.Nxf7 Kg7 45.Rf4 Kh7 46.h6 Kg6 47.Rxg4+ Kxf7 48.h7 Qh5 49.Rh4 Qf3+ 50.Kg1 Qd1+ 51.Kh2 Qe2 52.h8=Q Qxf2+ 53.Kh3 Qf5+ 54.Kg2 Qf3+ 55.Kg1 Qxe3+ 56.Kf1 Qf3+ 57.Ke1 Qxg3+ 58.Kd2 Qd3+ 59.Kc1 Qc4+ 60.Kb2 Qb4+ 61.Kc2 Qc5+ 62.Kd1 Qg1+ 63.Ke2 Qg2+ 64.Ke3 Qf3+ 65.Kd4 Qd3+ 66.Ke5 Qc3+ 67.Kf5 Qc5+ 68.Qe5 Qc8+ 69.Kg5 Qd8+ 70.Kh5 Qd1+ 71.Rg4 1-0

Evidently, Hikaru blew a perpetual with 62…Qg1+

Position after Black’s 62..Qg1+

Rapid 25+10
Round 3, June 12
Grischuk, Alexander – Caruana, Fabiano
C42 Petrov’s Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Bd3 d5 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1 Nd6 8.Nc3 c6 9.b3 O-O 10.Ba3 Bg4 11.h3 Bh5 12.Qe2 Bf6 13.Qe3 Re8 14.Qf4 Bxf3 15.Bxd6 Bh5 16.Bc7 Qc8 17.Bf5 Rxe1+ 18.Rxe1 Qf8 19.Bd6 Qd8 20.Qb4 Nd7 21.Qxb7 Nb6 22.Qxc6 Bg6 23.Bc7 Qf8 24.Bxg6 hxg6 25.Nxd5 Nxd5 26.Qxd5 Kh7 27.Bd6 Qd8 28.c4 Rc8 29.b4 Qd7 30.c5 Qa4 31.Qb3 Qd7 32.Re4 Qf5 33.d3 Kg8 34.Qc4 Qh5 35.Re1 Qg5 36.Qg4 1-0

Chessbomb comments

- Grischuk reminded Mr. Candidate that he needs training to win vs former blitz WC
- Yes, Caruana got completely outplayed. He is not a 2800 ELO guy here
- 15.Bxd6 is pretty sweet

Rapid Pairings

Round Four, June 13

So-Giri
Aronian-Mamedyarov
Karjakin-Anand
Caruana-Nakamura
MVL-Grischuk

Round Five, June 13

Grischuk-So
Nakamura-MVL
Anand-Caruana
Mamedyarov-Karjakin
Giri-Aronian

Round Six, June 13

So-Aronian
Karjakin-Giri
Caruana-Mamedyarov
MVL-Anand
Grischuk-Nakamura

Round Seven, June 14

Nakamura-So
Anand-Grischuk
Mamedyarov-MVL
Giri-Caruana
Aronian-Karjakin

Round Eight, June 14

So-Karjakin
Caruana-Aronian
MVL-Giri
Grischuk-Mamedyarov
Nakamura-Anand

Round Nine, June 14

Anand-So
Mamedyarov-Nakamura
Giri-Grischuk
Aronian-MVL
Karjakin-Caruana

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 13th June, 2018, 01:10 PM

Re: Leuven Rapid and Blitz 2018

Leuven Rapid and Blitz 2018

June 13, 2018

Rapids, Rounds Four to Six

Round Four

So-Giri 1-0
Aronian-Mamedyarov 0.5-0.5
Karjakin-Anand 0.5-0.5
Caruana-Nakamura 1-0
MVL-Grischuk 0.5-0.5

Rapid, 25+10
Round 4, June 13
So, Wesley – Giri, Anish
A22 English, Bremen, reverse Dragon

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 e5 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nc3 Nb6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.d3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Be3 Be6 10.Rc1 Nd5 11.Nxd5 Bxd5 12.Qc2 Re8 13.a3 a6 14.Rfd1 Bf6 15.Nd2 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 Bg5 17.Bxg5 Qxg5 18.e3 Qe7 19.Ne4 Rac8 20.Nc5 Nd8 21.d4 e4 22.d5 f5 23.Nxa6 Nf7 24.d6 Nxd6 25.Nxc7 Red8 26.Qb3+ Qf7 27.Ne6 Rxc1 28.Rxc1 Re8 29.Nd4 Qxb3 30.Nxb3 Kf7 31.Nd4 g6 32.Rc3 Kf6 33.Rb3 Re7 34.a4 Ke5 35.a5 Kd5 36.Rb6 Rf7 37.b3 g5 38.a6 bxa6 39.Rxa6 Nb7 40.Rb6 Nd6 41.Ra6 Nb7 42.Rh6 Nd6 43.Rh5 Rg7 44.Rh6 Rf7 45.Rh5 Rg7 46.h4 gxh4 47.Rxh4 Ke5 48.Rh6 Rf7 49.Rh5 Kf6 50.Rh6+ Ke5 51.Kh3 Rb7 52.Rh5 Kf6 53.Rh6+ Ke5 54.Kh4 Nb5 55.Ne2 Re7 56.g4 Nd6 57.Nd4 1-0

Rapid, 25+10
Round 4, June 13
Caruana, Fabiano – Nakamura, Hikaru
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O Re8 7.Nbd2 a6 8.Bxc6 dxc6 9.Nc4 Nd7 10.b4 Bf8 11.a4 b5 12.Na5 Qf6 13.Be3 Nb6 14.axb5 cxb5 15.Qc2 Bg4 16.Nd2 Qg6 17.f3 Bh3 18.Ndb3 Na4 19.Nc5 Bxc5 20.bxc5 Rad8 21.Rf2 Bc8 22.Rd2 f5 23.Re1 f4 24.Bf2 Bh3 25.Bh4 Rd7 26.Kh1 Nxc5 27.d4 Qh5 28.Bf2 Na4 29.Bg1 Rd6 30.d5 Rg6 31.Qd3 Bd7 32.c4 h6 33.Rc1 Kh7 34.Qa3 c5 35.Bxc5 bxc4 36.Nxc4 Nxc5 37.Qxc5 Bh3 38.Qa3 Bd7 39.d6 Qg5 40.Qxa6 h5 41.Qb7 Rd8 42.Qd5 Re8 43.Qb7 Rd8 44.Qc7 Be8 45.Qc5 Re6 46.Rd5 Rg6 47.Rg1 Re6 48.Nxe5 Qf6 49.d7 Bf7 50.Nxf7 Qxf7 51.Rxh5+ Kg8 52.Rd5 Rh6 53.Rgd1 Ra6 54.h3 Ra2 55.Qc7 Raa8 56.Kh2 Kh7 57.R1d2 g6 58.Re5 1-0

Round Five

Grischuk-So 0-1
Mamedyarov-Karjakin 0.5-0.5
Giri-Aronian 0-1
Nakamura-MVL 0.5-0.5
Anand-Caruana 1-0

Shakh has R+B vs R. Alejandro and Jovanka say that they have had this ending once each in their lives. Yasser says that he had it several times. It is a theoretical draw but the side with the extra piece has good winning chances because the defense is difficult.

Rapid, 25+10
Round 5, June 13
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Karjakin, Sergey
E37 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4 7.Qc2 c5 8.dxc5 Nc6 9.Nf3 Qa5+ 10.Nd2 Nxd2 11.Bxd2 Qxc5 12.e3 dxc4 13.Bxc4 Ne5 14.Bb3 Bd7 15.O-O Qxc2 16.Bxc2 Bc6 17.Rfd1 O-O 18.Bc3 Nd7 19.f3 Rfd8 20.e4 Nc5 21.a4 Rxd1+ 22.Bxd1 a5 23.Kf2 e5 24.Ke3 f6 25.b3 Bd7 26.Rc1 b6 27.Bb2 Be6 28.Rc3 Rd8 29.Bc2 Kf7 30.Ba3 Rc8 31.b4 axb4 32.Bxb4 Ke8 33.g3 g5 34.f4 exf4+ 35.gxf4 gxf4+ 36.Kxf4 Bd7 37.Bxc5 bxc5 38.a5 c4 39.Ra3 Ke7 40.Ke3 Rc5 41.a6 Bc6 42.Kd4 Rh5 43.h3 Kd6 44.Kxc4 Kc7 45.Kd4 Kb6 46.Ba4 Ba8 47.Bd7 Re5 48.Bf5 Re7 49.h4 h5 50.Rg3 Kxa6 51.Rg6 Bc6 52.Rxf6 Kb7 53.e5 Kc7 54.Rh6 Bf3 55.Ra6 Kd8 56.Ra3 Bb7 57.Rg3 Rf7 58.Rg5 Bf3 59.e6 Rc7 60.Rg8+ Ke7 61.Ke5 Rc5+ 62.Kf4 Bg4 63.Rg7+ Kf8 64.Rf7+ Ke8 65.Bg6 Rc4+ 66.Ke5 Bxe6 67.Kxe6 Kd8 68.Bf5 Rxh4 69.Rd7+ Kc8 70.Kd5 Kb8 71.Be4 Rh2 72.Kc6 Rh3 73.Rd8+ Ka7 74.Kc7 Ka6 75.Bc6 Ka5 76.Rb8 Rc3 77.Kd6 h4 78.Rb5+ Ka4 79.Rh5+ Kb4 80.Bd5 h3 81.Be6 Rd3+ 82.Ke5 Kc3 83.Bxh3 Re3+ 84.Kd5 Rd3+ 85.Kc5 Re3 86.Bf5 Re5+ 87.Kd6 Re3 88.Kd5 Rf3 89.Be4 Rg3 90.Kc5 Re3 91.Bd5 Rd3 92.Rh1 Re3 93.Ra1 Kb2 94.Ra2+ Kc3 95.Ra3+ Kd2 96.Bb3 Kc3 97.Bc4+ Kd2 98.Ra2+ Kc3 99.Kd5 Re7 100.Ra3+ Kb2 101.Rh3 Rd7+ 102.Kc5 Rd2 103.Kb4 Kc2 104.Ra3 Kb2 105.Bd3 Kc1 106.Kc4 Kb2 107.Rc3 Rf2 108.Rb3+ Kc1 109.Kd4 Rb2 110.Ra3 Kd2 111.Bc4 Kc1 112.Rh3 Kd2 113.Bb3 Kc1 114.Rg3 Kd2 115.Kc4 Kc1 116.Rd3 Rd2 117.Rc3+ Kb2 118.Kb4 Rd4+ 119.Bc4 Rd2 120.Bd3 Rf2 121.Be4 Re2 122.Rb3+ Kc1 123.Bd3 Rb2 *

Position after Black’s 106…Kb2

Rapid 25+10
Round 5, June 13
Giri, Anish - Aronian, Levon
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O 9.d4 Ne8 10.d5 Bc5 11.Re1 d6 12.Nc3 f5 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.Rxe3 Nf6 15.Qd4 Ng4 16.Ree1 f4 17.f3 Ne3 18.Rac1 Bf5 19.Qxf4 Nxf1 20.Qd4 Nxh2 21.Kxh2 Qg5 22.Ne4 Bxe4 23.Qxe4 Rf6 24.Re3 Raf8 25.Rce1 Rg6 26.R1e2 h5 27.Qe7 Qg3+ 28.Kh1 Rf4 29.Qe8+ Kh7 30.Re4 Rxf3 31.Qxg6+ Kxg6 32.gxf3 Qxf3+ 33.Kh2 Kh6 34.c4 g6 35.b3 a5 36.Re6 h4 37.Rg2 Qf5 38.Re8 Qf4+ 39.Kh3 g5 40.Rg8 Qe5 41.Kg4 b5 42.Rf8 bxc4 43.bxc4 Qe4+ 44.Kh3 g4+ 45.Kh2 Qe5+ 46.Kg1 g3 0-1

Yasser often cites Ulf Andersson as a player who wins unwinnable endgames by grinding them out. A book came out in 2011, Grandmaster Chess Strategy: What Amateurs Can Learn from Ulf Andersson’s Positional Masterpieces by Jurgen Kaufeld and Guido Kem.

Round Six

So-Aronian 0.5-0.5
Karjakin-Giri 0.5-0.5
Caruana-Mamedyarov 0-1
MVL-Anand 1-0
Grischuk-Nakamura 0-1

Rapid 25+10
Round 6, June 13
MVL – Anand, Vishy
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Ke8 10.Nc3 b6 11.Bf4 Bb4 12.Ne4 Ba6 13.Rfc1 Be2 14.Nh2 Bc4 15.Rd1 Bd5 16.c3 Bxe4 17.cxb4 Rd8 18.e6 fxe6 19.Bxc7 Rxd1+ 20.Rxd1 Bd5 21.a3 Ke7 22.Be5 h5 23.f3 Kf7 24.Kf2 Rc8 25.g4 Ne7 26.gxh5 Rh8 27.Rg1 Rxh5 28.Rxg7+ Kf8 29.Bf6 Rxh3 30.Kg2 Rh6 31.Rxe7 Rxf6 32.Rxa7 Rf4 33.Kg3 e5 34.Rh7 Rd4 35.Ng4 e4 36.fxe4 Bxe4 37.Rb7 b5 38.Nf6 Bf5 39.Rc7 Rd6 40.Kf4 Rxf6 41.Kg5 Rd6 42.Kxf5 Ke8 43.Ke5 Rh6 44.b3 Kd8 45.Rf7 Kc8 46.a4 Kb8 47.a5 Rh3 48.Kd6 Rc3 49.a6 Ka8 50.Rc7 Kb8 51.Rxc6 1-0

Rapid 25+10
Round 6, June 13
Grischuk, Alexander – Nakamura, Hikaru
C67 Ruy Lopez, open Berlin Defence, l’Hermit variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.dxe5 Nxb5 7.a4 Nbd4 8.Nxd4 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 d5 10.Qd3 c6 11.a5 Qd7 12.f4 Qf5 13.Qc3 Bd7 14.Qb3 Bc5+ 15.Be3 Bxe3+ 16.Qxe3 Qxc2 17.Qa3 Bf5 18.Qb4 Qe4 19.Qc5 Qc4 20.Qxc4 dxc4 21.Nd2 Bd3 22.Rfc1 O-O-O 23.Nxc4 Bxc4 24.Rxc4 a6 25.Rac1 Rd2 26.R1c2 Rhd8 27.Rxd2 Rxd2 28.b3 g6 29.h3 Rd3 30.b4 Kd7 31.Kf2 Rd2+ 32.Kf3 Ke6 33.g4 Rd3+ 34.Ke4 Rxh3 35.f5+ Ke7 36.Rd4 h5 37.Rd6 Rh4 38.f6+ Ke8 39.e6 Rxg4+ 40.Ke5 Rg5+ 41.Ke4 Rd5 0-1

Rapid Standings after Round Six

1 So 10
2 Aronian 8
3-5 Karjakin, Mamedyarov, MVL 7
6 Nakamura 6
7-9 Giri, Grischuk, Anand 4
10 Caruana 3

Wesley is playing coolly and confidently. He has thanked The Lord for his wins.

Chessbomb kibitzers:

- There should be a separation between church and chess
- Seems odd that with all the suffering in the world, God would take time out from his busy day to help so win a chess game
- My God. Fabi and Vishy are both suffering badly here
- Oh dear, Fabi.. total collapse
- The two best players, in terms of skill, are bottom-placed here. Says a lot about rapid!

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 14th June, 2018, 01:51 PM

Re: Leuven Rapid and Blitz 2018

Leuven Rapid and Blitz 2018

June 14, 2018

Rapids, Rounds Seven to Nine

Round Seven

Nakamura-So 0-1
Aronian-Karjakin 0-1
Mamedyarov-MVL 0.5-0.5
Anand-Grischuk 0-1
Giri-Caruana 0-1

Round Eight

So-Karjakin 0.5-0.5
Grischuk-Mamedyarov 0.5-0.5
Caruana-Aronian 0-1
MVL-Giri 1-0
Nakamura-Anand 1-0

Round Nine

Anand-So 0.5-0.5
Karjakin-Caruana 0-1
Aronian-MVL 0.5-0.5
Mamedyarov-Nakamura 0-1
Giri-Grischuk 0.5-0.5

Rapids Standings after Round Nine

1 So 14
2-3 Aronian, MVL 11
4-5 Nakamura, Karjakin 10
6 Mamedyarov 9
7 Grischuk 8
8 Caruana 7
9-10 Giri, Anand 5

Tomorrow, nine rounds of blitz

Selection of Games

Rapid, 25+10
Round 7, June 14
Aronian, Levon – Karjakin, Sergey
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Re1 a6 7.c3 h6 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.Bb3 Ba7 10.Nf1 Re8 11.Ng3 Be6 12.Bc2 d5 13.exd5 Bxd5 14.Be3 Bxe3 15.Rxe3 Qd7 16.h3 Re7 17.Qd2 Rae8 18.Rae1 g6 19.Nh4 Nh7 20.Nh5 Kh8 21.d4 gxh5 22.Rg3 Re6 23.dxe5 Qd8 24.Nf5 Nxe5 25.Rg7 Nf3+ 26.gxf3 Rxe1+ 27.Kh2 Rh1+ 0-1

Disaster!

Final Position of Aronian-Karjakin

Rapid, 25+10
Round 7, June 14
Giri, Anish – Caruana, Fabiano
C16 French, Winawer, Advance variation4

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Ne7 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 b6 7.Qg4 Kf8 8.a4 Ba6 9.Bxa6 Nxa6 10.Qe2 Nb8 11.a5 Nbc6 12.axb6 cxb6 13.Nf3 Na5 14.O-O h6 15.Ba3 Kg8 16.Bb4 Nc4 17.Ra6 Qc8 18.Rfa1 Nc6 19.R6a2 a5 20.Ba3 a4 21.Rb1 Kh7 22.Qd3+ g6 23.Bc1 Kg7 24.Nd2 Nxd2 25.Bxd2 Qd7 26.Qf3 Na5 27.Qf6+ Kg8 28.Bc1 Nc4 29.Ba3 Nxa3 30.Rxa3 b5 31.h4 h5 32.f4 Kh7 33.g4 hxg4 34.h5 gxh5 35.Rxb5 Rhg8 36.Rb4 Rg6 37.Qh4 Kg7 38.Kg2 Qc6 39.Qe7 h4 40.Qxh4 Rh8 41.Qe7 g3 42.Rb7 Qc4 43.Qxf7+ Kh6 0-1

It's mate in 8

Rapid, 25+10
Round 8, June 14
Nakamura, Hikaru – Anand, Vishy
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.h3 Qe7 7.Nc3 h6 8.Be3 Bd6 9.Ne2 Be6 10.a3 Nd7 11.Qd2 c5 12.Qc3 a5 13.O-O O-O 14.g4 h5 15.Nh2 Qh4 16.Kg2 hxg4 17.hxg4 Bxg4 18.Nxg4 Qxg4+ 19.Ng3 Qe6 20.Rh1 f6 21.Nf5 Kf7 22.Rh7 Rg8 23.Rg1 Nf8 24.Rh2 Ng6 25.Bxc5 Bxc5 26.Qxc5 Qc6 27.Qxc6 bxc6 28.Kf3 Ne7 29.Nxe7 Kxe7 30.Rh7 Kf7 31.a4 c5 32.Ke3 Rab8 33.b3 Rbe8 34.Kd2 Re7 35.Kc3 Ke6 36.Kc4 Kd6 37.Rg6 Rf7 38.f3 c6 39.Rh2 Rb8 40.Rh7 Rb4+ 41.Kc3 Rbb7 42.Rh8 Kc7 43.Rg8 Kb6 44.Kd2 Rbd7 45.Ke3 Rde7 46.Rg1 g5 47.Rg6 Re8 48.Rh1 Ref8 49.Kd2 c4 50.bxc4 Kc5 51.Rgh6 Rb8 52.Kc3 Rg8 53.Rb1 Rgf8 54.Kd2 Rd8 55.Ke3 Rdf8 56.Kd2 Rd8 57.Kc3 Rdf8 58.Rd1 Rb8 59.Ra1 Rbf8 60.Rah1 Kb6 61.Rh8 Rxh8 62.Rxh8 Kc5 63.Ra8 Kb6 64.Re8 Kc5 65.Re6 Kb6 66.Kd2 Kc5 67.c3 Rf8 68.Ke3 Rf7 69.d4+ exd4+ 70.cxd4+ Kxc4 71.Rxc6+ Kb4 72.d5 Kxa4 73.Rb6 Ka3 74.d6 1-0

Rapid, 25+10
Round 8, June 14
Caruana, Fabiano – Aronian, Levon
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d5 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.O-O dxe4 8.dxe4 a5 9.a4 Qe7 10.h3 Ne8 11.Re1 Nd6 12.Bd3 Be6 13.Nf1 f6 14.Be3 Bxe3 15.Nxe3 Qf7 16.Qe2 Rfd8 17.Red1 Ne7 18.h4 Nec8 19.Bc2 Nb6 20.Nd2 Nbc4 21.Ndxc4 Nxc4 22.Nd5 Bxd5 23.exd5 Nd6 24.c4 b6 25.Ra3 f5 26.Rc3 e4 27.c5 bxc5 28.Rxc5 Re8 29.Rc1 Re7 30.Bd1 f4 31.Qe1 f3 32.R1c3 Rf8 33.Qf1 Qg6 34.Kh2 Qg4 35.Rxc7 Qxh4+ 36.Kg1 Re5 0-1

Rapid, 25+10
Round 9, June 14
Karjakin, Sergey – Caruana, Fabiano
C42 Petrov, Kaufmann Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.c4 Nc6 6.d4 d5 7.c5 Be7 8.Bb5 O-O 9.O-O Bg4 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.h3 Bh5 12.g4 Bg6 13.Ne5 Bf6 14.Nxc6 Qd7 15.Nb4 Rab8 16.Nc2 Bh4 17.f3 Ng3 18.Rf2 f5 19.Nc3 Ne4 20.Rh2 Nxc3 21.bxc3 Rbe8 22.Bd2 Bg3 23.Rg2 f4 24.Rc1 Bd3 25.Ne1 Bc4 26.Qc2 Be2 27.c4 dxc4 28.Bc3 Bxe1 29.Rxe1 Bxf3 30.Rxe8 Qxe8 31.Rf2 Bd5 32.Qe2 Qg6 33.Qe5 c6 34.Kh2 Qd3 35.Rxf4 Qc2+ 36.Kg3 Qxc3+ 37.Kh4 Rxf4 38.Qxf4 h6 0-1

Rapid, 25+10
Round 9, June 14
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QGD, Hastings variation, main line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Qc2 Nc6 9.a3 Qa5 10.Rd1 Re8 11.Bg3 Ne4 12.cxd5 exd5 13.Rxd5 Nxc3 14.bxc3 Be6 15.Rd2 Be7 16.Bd3 g6 17.O-O Qxa3 18.Nd4 Nxd4 19.cxd4 Rac8 20.Qb2 Qxb2 21.Rxb2 Rc3 22.Be2 b6 23.e4 Bc4 24.Bxc4 Rxc4 25.Rd1 Rd8 26.Rbd2 b5 27.Kf1 Bb4 28.Rd3 a5 29.d5 a4 30.d6 Bc3 31.d7 b4 32.Rd5 a3 33.Rb5 a2 34.Rb8 Rxb8 35.Bxb8 Rd4 36.Rxd4 a1=Q+ 37.Ke2 Qa6+ 0-1

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 15th June, 2018, 04:29 PM

Re: Leuven Rapid and Blitz 2018

Leuven Rapid and Blitz 2018

June 15, 2018

Blitz, Rounds One to Nine

Blitz, Round One (10)

Giri-Nakamura 1-0
MVL-Grischuk 0.5-0.5
Caruana-Anand 0-1
Mamedyarov-Aronian 0-1
So-Karjakin 0.5-0.5

Round Two (11)

Nakamura-Karjakin 0.5-0.5
Anand-Mamedyarov 0.5-0.5
Aronian-So 0.5-0.5
Grischuk-Caruana 1-0
Giri-MVL 0-1

Round Three (12)

So-Anand 0.5-0.5
Caruana-Giri 0.5-0.5
MVL-Nakamura 1-0
Mamedyarov-Grischuk 0.5-0.5
Karjakin-Aronian 0.5-0.5

Round Four (13)

Nakamura-Aronian 1-0
Anand-Karjakin 0-1
Grischuk-So 0.5-0.5
Giri-Mamedyarov 1-0
MVL-Caruana 0.5-0.5

Round Five (14)

Mamedyarov-MVL 0.5-0.5
Caruana-Nakamura 0.5-0.5
So-Giri 1-0
Karjakin-Grischuk 0.5-0.5
Aronian-Anand 1-0

Round Six (15)

Grischuk-Aronian 1-0
Nakamura-Anand 0-1
MVL-So 0.5-0.5
Giri-Karjakin 0.5-0.5
Caruana-Mamedyarov 0.5-0.5

Round Seven (16)

So-Caruana 0.5-0.5
Mamedyarov-Nakamura 0-1
Karjakin-MVL 1-0
Aronian-Giri 1-0
Anand-Grischuk 0.5-0.5

Round Eight (17)

Mamedyarov-So 1-0
Giri-Anand 0.5-0.5
MVL-Aronian 0.5-0.5
Caruana-Karjakin 0-1
Nakamura-Grischuk 1-0

Round Nine (18)

Karjakin-Mamedyarov 1-0
Aronian-Caruana 1-0
So-Nakamura 0-1
Grischuk-Giri 0.5-0.5
Anand-MVL 1-0

Standings after Blitz Round Nine

(Combined Score)

1 So 18
2-3 Karjakin, Aronian 16.5
4 MVL 15.5
5 Nakamura 15
6 Grischuk 13
7 Mamedyarov 12
8 Anand 10
9 Caruana 9.5
10 Giri 9

Wesley So, undefeated so far in the tournament, lost in Blitz Rounds 8 and 9

In this position in Round 9, he thought Nakamura would take the pawn but instead forked rook and king!

Position after 85.Kf2 in So-Nakamura

Karjakin got 6.5 points out of 9 today.

Blitz 5+3
Round 4 (13), June 15
Anand, Vishy – Karjakin, Sergey
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4 h6 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.Re1 a5 10.Nf1 Be6 11.Qb3 Qd7 12.Be3 Bxe3 13.Nxe3 b6 14.Nd5 Bxd5 15.exd5 Ne7 16.d4 e4 17.Nd2 Qf5 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.Qc2 Nf6 20.Bd3 Qd7 21.Bb5 Qd8 22.c4 Rc8 23.Qe2 c6 0-1

Oh dear, 18.Nxe4?

Caruana loses in 21 moves to Aronian:

Blitz 5+3
Round 9 (18), June 15
Aronian, Levon – Caruana, Fabiano
B43 Sicilian, Kan

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 a6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Qc7 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 Bb4 8.O-O Bxc3 9.bxc3 d6 10.Ba3 O-O 11.e5 dxe5 12.Bxf8 Kxf8 13.Nb3 Bd7 14.Na5 Ra7 15.Nxb7 Ke7 16.Rb1 Bb5 17.Re1 Nbd7 18.Qc1 Nd5 19.Qa3+ Kf6 20.Bxd5 exd5 21.Rxb5 1-0

Blitz 5+3
Round 4 (13), June 15
Giri, Anish – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
C87 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Averbach variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 d6 7.c3 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.Bxc6+ bxc6 10.d4 Nd7 11.Be3 Rb8 12.b3 O-O 13.Nbd2 Re8 14.Rc1 Bf6 15.Qc2 h6 16.Qd3 Qc8 17.dxe5 Nxe5 18.Nxe5 Bxe5 19.Bd4 Bf4 20.Be3 Bxe3 21.Rxe3 Bg6 22.c4 a5 23.Qc3 a4 24.bxa4 Qa6 25.a5 Ra8 26.c5 Qxa5 27.Qxa5 Rxa5 28.cxd6 Rxa2 29.Nc4 cxd6 30.Nxd6 Rb8 31.f4 Bh5 32.g4 Bg6 33.f5 Bh7 34.Nc4 Re8 35.e5 g6 36.Nd6 Re7 37.Rxc6 Ra8 38.f6 Rd7 39.Rec3 Rdd8 40.Rc7 Rf8 41.e6 g5 42.Nxf7 Bg6 43.Nxh6+ Kh8 44.f7 Rfb8 45.e7 1-0

Blitz 5+3
Round 3 (12), June 15
MVL – Nakamura, Hikaru
B06 Robatsch Defence

1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.Bc4 Bg7 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Qe2 O-O 6.O-O Bg4 7.Rd1 Nc6 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 e5 10.c3 Re8 11.d5 Ne7 12.Bd3 Rf8 13.c4 Nd7 14.Nc3 f5 15.Rb1 fxe4 16.Qxe4 Nf5 17.Qe1 e4 18.Nxe4 h6 19.b3 Re8 20.Bb2 Ne5 21.f3 a5 22.a4 Qe7 23.Bc2 Qf7 24.Qf2 b6 25.Bc3 Re7 26.Re1 Rae8 27.Re2 Nd7 28.Rbe1 Rxe4 29.Rxe4 Rxe4 30.fxe4 Bxc3 31.exf5 Bxe1 32.Qxe1 gxf5 33.Qg3+ Kf8 34.Qf4 Kg7 35.Bxf5 Nc5 36.Qg3+ Kf8 37.Bc2 Qe7 38.Qf4+ Kg7 39.Kf2 Qe8 40.Qg4+ Kf8 41.Qf5+ Qf7 42.Qxf7+ Kxf7 43.Ke3 Nd7 44.Kf4 Kf6 45.g4 Nc5 46.h4 Nd7 47.g5+ Kg7 48.Kf5 Nc5 49.gxh6+ Kxh6 50.Kf6 Kh5 51.Ke7 Kxh4 52.Kd8 Na6 1-0

17…e4 was rather vigorously questioned by the chessbomb kibitzers!

Nine more rounds of blitz tomorrow

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 16th June, 2018, 09:39 PM

Leuven Rapid and Blitz 2018

June 16, 2018

Blitz, Rounds Ten to Eighteen

Blitz, Round Ten (19)

Aronian-Mamedyarov 0.5-0.5
Anand-Caruana 1-0
Karjakin-So 1-0
Nakamura-Giri 1-0
Grischuk-MVL 0-1

Blitz, Round Eleven (20)

Karjakin-Nakamura 0.5-0.5
Mamedyarov-Anand 0.5-0.5
So-Aronian 0.5-0.5
Caruana-Grischuk 1-0
MVL-Giri 0.5-0.5

Blitz, Round Twelve (21)

Anand-So 0.5-0.5
Giri-Caruana 0.5-0.5
Aronian-Karjakin 0.5-0.5
Nakamura-MVL 0-1
Grischuk-Mamedyarov 1-0

Blitz, Round Thirteen (22)

So-Grischuk 0.5-0.5
Karjakin-Anand 1-0
Aronian-Nakamura 0-1
Mamedyarov-Giri 0.5-0.5
Caruana-MVL 0-1

Blitz, Round Fourteen (23)

Giri-So 0-1
MVL-Mamedyarov 0-1
Grischuk-Karjakin 1-0
Nakamura-Caruana 0-1
Anand-Aronian 0.5-0.5

Blitz, Round Fifteen (24)

Anand-Nakamura 0-1
Aronian-Grischuk 1-0
So-MVL 0.5-0.5
Karjakin-Giri 1-0
Mamedyarov-Caruana 0.5-0.5

Blitz, Round Sixteen (25)

MVL-Karjakin 1-0
Nakamura-Mamedyarov 1-0
Caruana-So 0-1
Giri-Aronian 0-1
Grischuk-Anand 1-0

Blitz, Round Seventeen (26)

So-Mamedyarov 0-1
Anand-Giri 1-0
Karjakin-Caruana 1-0
Grischuk-Nakamura 0.5-0.5
Aronian-MVL 0-1

Blitz, Round Eighteen (27)

MVL-Anand 0-1
Giri-Grischuk 0.5-0.5
Nakamura-So 1-0
Caruana-Aronian 1-0
Mamedyarov-Karjakin 1-0

Final Results After Rapid & Blitz

Pos. PlayerRapid Score Blitz Score Combined Score

1 So14 8 22
2-3 Karjakin 10 11.521.5
2-3 MVL 11 10.521.5
4 Nakamura 10 11 21
5 Aronian 11 9.5 20.5
6 Grischuk 8 9.5 17.5
7 Mamedyarov 9 8 17
8 Anand 5 9.5 14.5
9 Caruana 7 6.5 13.5
10 Giri 5 6 11

Grand Chess Tour 2018

Standings After Leuven

Pos Player GCT Points Prize Money

1 So 13 $37,500
2 Karjakin 9 $22,500
3 MVL 9 $22,500
4 Nakamura 7 $15,000
5 Aronian 6 $12,500
6 Grischuk 5 $10,000
7 Mamedyarov 4 $ 7,500
8 Anand 3 $ 7,500
9 Caruana 2 $ 7,500
10 Giri 1 $ 7,500

The Paris leg of the tournament starts June 20^th.

++++++++++

A note on a Round Seven (16) game yesterday:

From Peter Doggers at chess.com

https://www.chess.com/news/view/your...-not-there-yet

“Round 16 saw a very odd end of the game between Anand and Grischuk, in which Anand had been lost at several points in the game, and was rather lucky to suddenly have a draw after playing 70.Qf3.

Dejected, Grischuk took the rook on d2 and his body language suggested that he accepted that the game was going to end in a draw. But then, instead of playing 71.Qf7+ and give perpetual, Anand accidentally put his queen on f8. Before he noticed that, Grischuk had already touched his king to play Kb8, and in this bizarre situation the players agreed on a draw.”

Blitz, 5+3
Round Sixteen, June 15
Anand, Vishy – Grischuk, Alexander
B52 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.O-O Nf6 6.Qe2 Nc6 7.b3 g6 8.Bb2 Bg7 9.c4 Nh5 10.Bxg7 Nxg7 11.Nc3 O-O 12.Qe3 e5 13.d3 f5 14.Nd5 f4 15.Qd2 Ne6 16.b4 g5 17.bxc5 dxc5 18.h3 h5 19.Nh2 Qg7 20.f3 Rf7 21.Rfb1 Ned4 22.Rb2 Rd8 23.Rab1 b6 24.Qd1 Rd6 25.a3 Kh7 26.Ra2 Rg6 27.Rab2 Qf8 28.Ra2 Qd6 29.Rab2 Rfg7 30.a4 Qd8 31.Ra1 Rh6 32.Rab1 Na5 33.Qe1 Qd7 34.Qd1 Kh8 35.Rf2 Nac6 36.Rbb2 Qe6 37.Rb1 Kh7 38.Rbb2 Rhg6 39.Rb1 Qd6 40.Rbb2 Qd8 41.Rb1 Qf8 42.Rbb2 Qd6 43.Rb1 Qd8 44.Rbb2 Rb7 45.Rb1 a5 46.Rfb2 Nb4 47.Rf2 Rbg7 48.Rbb2 Qd6 49.Rb1 Kg8 50.Rbb2 Kf8 51.Rb1 Ke8 52.Rc1 Kd8 53.Rb1 Kc8 54.Rbb2 Kb7 55.Rb1 Ka7 56.Rbb2 Qe6 57.Rb1 g4 58.fxg4 hxg4 59.Nxg4 Rxg4 60.hxg4 Rxg4 61.Nc7 Qg6 62.Nb5+ Nxb5 63.cxb5 Rg3 64.Rbb2 Nxd3 65.Rbd2 Qxe4 66.Rf3 c4 67.Rxg3 fxg3 68.Qe2 Qd4+ 69.Kf1 Qf4+ 70.Qf3 Qxd2 71.Qf8 1/2-1/2

Position after White’s 70.Qf3

(to be continued)

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 16th June, 2018, 10:40 PM

Leuven Rapid and Blitz 2018

June 16, 2018

Blitz, Rounds Ten to Eighteen (continued)

Blitz, 5+3
Round Sixteen (25), June 16
Caruana, Fabiano – So, Wesley
A00 Benko/Trident Opening

1.g3 c5 2.Bg2 g6 3.e4 Bg7 4.Ne2 Nc6 5.c3 e5 6.O-O Nge7 7.d3 d5 8.a4 O-O 9.Na3 Be6 10.Qc2 Qd7 11.Rd1 Bh3 12.Be3 Bxg2 13.Kxg2 b6 14.d4 cxd4 15.cxd4 dxe4 16.dxe5 Qf5 17.Nc4 Rad8 18.Nd4 Nxd4 19.Bxd4 Nc6 20.Be3 Nxe5 21.Nxe5 Bxe5 22.a5 bxa5 23.Re1 Rb8 24.Rxa5 Rxb2 25.Qc4 h5 26.Kg1 Rc8 27.Qd5 Re8 28.Qc6 Reb8 29.Bf4 e3 30.Bxe3 h4 31.Bf4 Rb1 32.Rxe5 Qxe5 33.Bxe5 Rxe1+ 34.Kg2 Rxe5 35.Qc7 Reb5 36.Qxa7 hxg3 37.hxg3 Rb2 38.Kh3 Rd8 39.Qe7 Rc8 40.f4 Rb5 41.Kg4 Rh5 42.Qd7 Rb8 43.Qc7 Re8 44.Qd7 Ra8 45.Qc6 Ra3 46.Qe8+ Kg7 47.Qe7 Rd3 48.Qb7 Rhd5 49.Qe7 Rc3 50.Kh4 Rh5+ 51.Kg4 Rd5 52.Kh4 Rc1 53.Kg4 Rg1 54.Qa7 Rgd1 55.Qb7 R1d3 56.Qb2+ Kh7 57.Qb7 Rd7 58.Qb2 Re3 59.Qf6 Re6 60.Qc3 Rd5 61.Qc7 Kg7 62.Kh4 Re3 63.Qb7 Rdd3 64.Qb2+ Kg8 65.Qb8+ Kg7 66.Qb2+ Kg8 67.Qb8+ Kh7 68.Qb7 Kg7 69.Qb2+ f6 70.Qb7+ Kh6 71.Qb6 Rxg3 0-1

From Peter Doggers at chess.com:

https://www.chess.com/news/view/so-w...and-chess-tour

“So's win vs Caruana had a sidestory. The endgame with queen vs two rooks and two pawns each should, of course, have ended in a draw but after a lot of shuffling from both sides, Caruana suddenly blundered terribly.

Afterward he went to deputy arbiter Tony Rich to complain about his opponent, who indeed was banging the clock quite heavily during that endgame, so much that it could definitely have been distracting. That, together with So clearing his throat a lot during his games (also in classical chess), makes him a difficult opponent to play against.”

Critical Last Round Games

Blitz, 5+3
Round Eighteen (27), June 16
MVL – Anand, Vishy
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.O-O c5 7.c4 Nbc6 8.dxc5 d4 9.Qb3 Qc7 10.Na3 a6 11.Rd1 Rd8 12.Nc2 Bxc2 13.Qxc2 Ng6 14.a3 Bxc5 15.b4 Ba7 16.Qe4 Ngxe5 17.Bf4 Nxf3+ 18.Bxf3 Qe7 19.b5 axb5 20.cxb5 Na5 21.Rac1 Bb6 22.Bd2 f5 23.Qe1 Ra8 24.Qe5 O-O 25.Bb4 Qf6 26.Qd6 e5 27.Bd5+ Kh8 28.Qxf6 Rxf6 29.f3 h5 30.Be7 Rh6 31.h4 Bd8 32.Bb4 Bb6 33.Kf1 Rd8 34.Ba2 e4 35.Bc5 d3 36.Kf2 d2 37.Rc3 Rd3 38.Rc2 Nb3 39.Bxb6 Rxb6 40.a4 Nd4 41.Rc8+ Kh7 42.Re8 exf3 43.Bb1 Ra3 44.Rxd2 Rxa4 45.gxf3 Rxb5 46.Bd3 Rba5 47.Ke3 g6 48.Rb2 b5 49.Rd8 f4+ 50.Kf2 Ra2 51.Rxa2 Rxa2+ 52.Kf1 Nxf3 53.Bxb5 Nxh4 54.Bd3 Kh6 55.Rd5 Rd2 0-1

Blitz, 5+3
Round Eighteen (27), June 16
Nakamura, Hikaru – So, Wesley
A05 Reti, Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.b3 g6 3.Bb2 Bg7 4.e3 O-O 5.d4 c5 6.dxc5 Qa5+ 7.c3 Qxc5 8.Ba3 Qc7 9.Bxe7 Re8 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.Nd4 Nc6 12.Be2 d5 13.O-O Ne5 14.Qd2 Bd7 15.Na3 Rac8 16.Rac1 a6 17.Rfd1 Qa5 18.Qb2 Rc7 19.c4 Be7 20.Ndc2 Bf6 21.Nd4 Be7 22.Nb1 Rec8 23.cxd5 Rxc1 24.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 25.Qxc1 Qxa2 26.Nc3 Qa5 27.h3 Be8 28.Kh1 Kg7 29.f4 Bb4 30.Nd1 Nd7 31.e4 Bd2 32.Qb2 Nf6 33.g3 Kg8 34.Bf3 Bd7 35.Kg2 Bb4 36.Ne2 Be7 37.d6 Bd8 38.Qc3 Qa2 39.Qb2 Qa5 40.Ne3 Bc6 41.e5 Nd5 42.Nxd5 Bxd5 43.Qc3 Qa2 44.Kf1 Qb1+ 45.Kg2 Qd1 46.Nd4 Bb6 47.Bxd5 Bxd4 48.Qc4 h5 49.h4 Qg1+ 50.Kh3 Bf2 51.Bg2 Qd1 52.Qc8+ Kg7 53.Qc3 Kg8 54.Qf3 Qd4 55.Qxb7 Qd3 56.Qf3 Qf5+ 57.Kh2 Bc5 58.Qc3 Bf2 59.Qd2 Bb6 60.d7 Bd8 61.Qd6 a5 62.Qc6 Kg7 63.Qc8 Bxh4 64.d8=Q 1-0

Blitz, 5+3
Round Eighteen (27), June 16
Caruana, Fabiano – Aronian, Levon
A45 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.Nf3 O-O 5.Be2 c5 6.c3 b6 7.O-O Bb7 8.Nbd2 d6 9.h3 Na6 10.Bh2 Nc7 11.a4 Ne4 12.Nxe4 Bxe4 13.Nd2 Bc6 14.b4 Qc8 15.b5 Bd5 16.a5 f5 17.Re1 Rb8 18.Bf1 Kh8 19.Ra3 e5 20.dxe5 dxe5 21.c4 Bb7 22.a6 Ba8 23.Rd3 Qe8 24.Nb1 Ne6 25.Rd7 Rd8 26.Rxd8 Qxd8 27.Nc3 Kg8 28.Qc2 Qe7 29.Rd1 f4 30.Nd5 Qf7 31.Bd3 f3 32.Bg3 fxg2 33.h4 Kh8 34.Be4 g5 35.Kxg2 gxh4 36.Bxh4 h6 37.Rh1 Rg8 38.Kf1 Rf8 39.Rh3 Qd7 40.Kg2 Nc7 41.Nc3 Qg4+ 42.Bg3 Ne6 43.Rh4 Bxe4+ 44.Qxe4 Qxe4+ 45.Rxe4 Kh7 46.Bxe5 Ng5 47.Bxg7 Kxg7 48.Re7+ Rf7 49.Rb7 Ne6 50.Nd5 h5 51.f4 Nd8 52.Rxf7+ Kxf7 53.Nxb6 1-0

Blitz, 5+3
Round Eighteen (27), June 16
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Karjakin, Sergey
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.g3 b6 7.Bg2 Bb7 8.O-O Bxc3 9.Qxc3 O-O 10.Rd1 Qe8 11.b3 Ne4 12.Qc2 Nef6 13.Bb2 Be4 14.Qc3 a5 15.a3 Qe7 16.Bf1 h6 17.Nd2 Bb7 18.Qc2 e5 19.d5 c5 20.e4 Rfe8 21.Bd3 Nf8 22.Nf1 g5 23.Ne3 Bc8 24.f3 Nh5 25.Kf2 Qf6 26.Rh1 g4 27.Be2 Nh7 28.h4 gxf3 29.Bxf3 Qg6 30.Rag1 N7f6 31.Qe2 Ng7 32.Qd3 h5 33.Rf1 Ng4+ 34.Bxg4 Bxg4 35.Kg2 Rf8 36.Nxg4 hxg4 37.h5 Nxh5 38.Bc1 f6 39.Rf5 Ng7 40.Rh6 Qe8 41.Rf1 a4 42.Qe2 Qd7 43.bxa4 f5 44.Rg6 Kh7 45.Rg5 f4 46.gxf4 exf4 47.Bxf4 Kg8 48.e5 Qe7 49.Rxg4 Rf5 50.Bh6 Rxe5 51.Qf3 Re2+ 52.Kh1 Qe5 53.Rxg7+ Kh8 54.Qf8+ 1-0

“Anything could happen in the final round, but nobody would have predicted what actually happened. So played Nakamura as Black; a tough pairing when even a draw might not be enough. In case of a three-way tie, only the top two finishers would have played a playoff and the first tiebreak wasn't good for So.

Nakamura won a pawn in the opening, built up a winning position but then let it slip away. For a while it was a draw, and during that phase the arbiters interrupted the game for a moment, because both players were banging the clock too loudly!

Shortly after the players had resumed the game, So was even winning one moment, but eventually Naka's passed pawn decided.

To his great relief, So then saw that both his rivals had also lost! This way, the round reminded of the end of the 2013 London Candidates' tournament.

Afterward So was especially grateful to Anand ("we should take him to dinner!"), because the Indian won as Black. That was after MVL missed a devilish trick with which he could have forced a draw and a playoff.” [Peter Doggers]

Online Comments

So came in with a sputter to win after playing so brilliantly the first two days. Seems many kept letting victory slip from the jaws of defeat. So wins by default. Can't take anything away from him. Others could have taken it. No one did.

Sergey, by the way, is once again showing that of all the top players, he probably has the best claim to being the #2 blitz player in the world right now.

A dramatic final day, well done Wesley So!

I was actually expecting Mamedyarov to give the final game to Karjakin. I was expecting some "blunders" to come his way along the way. I'm surprised to see him press for a win though.

The best that can be said about this event is that it took place in a most beautiful venue. The chess is overall poor because of the Blitz which is not interesting at all to follow. They get well paid for playing 2nd rate chess, basically. Which is fine for the players of course but rather silly if I was the organizer/sponsor.